The colorful rope in ancient times, also known as the long life wisp, renewal of life wisp, with red, green, yellow, white and black thick silk thread rolled into a colorful rope, tied on the arm of the girl, neck. The Ming Yu You Ding's "Five Days in the Imperial Capital Song" says that "the life of the five strands can be renewed", referring to this custom. Han Ying Shao's "Customs" reads, "On the fifth day of the fifth month, five-colored silk is tied around the arm, known as the long-life wisp." The latter is also known as the "renewal of life", "colorful strand".

Every Dragon Boat Festival, families are to the children at home to wear five-color silk rope to avoid ominous, so the traditional five-color silk braided into a rope, with silver locks, wrapped around the arm of the child, in order to pray to ward off evil spirits, to get rid of diseases and prolong life. Made of colorful rope to wear is male left and female right, both can be tied on the neck of the hand, can also be tied on the neck of the foot.

The five colors of the five-color silk represents the five elements, five-color line of the custom originated in China's ancient concept of the five elements, or tattoo legacy, the ancient veneration of the five colors, five colors for the auspicious color. The five colors represent the five directions, each other, with the mysterious effect of driving away evil and welcoming good luck. Green is wood, on behalf of the East, red is fire, on behalf of the South, yellow is earth, on behalf of the center, white is gold, on behalf of the West, black is water, on behalf of the North. With the four elephants as the symbol, the East is the Green Dragon, the South is the Vermilion Bird, the West is the White Tiger, the North is the Xuanwu (Tortoise and Snake), and the center is the Yellow Dragon, all of which are spiritual beings. The colorful threads are not randomly woven in five colors, they must be white, red, black, yellow, and green (blue); because in the doctrine of yin and yang, these five colors represent gold, fire, water, earth, and wood; and also symbolize the east, west, south, north, and south, which contain the divine power of the five directions.